Category: Resume Writing

Crafting a resume generally is a daunting process, particularly for individuals who have gaps of their work historical past. It’s pure to really feel anxious about how potential employers may understand these breaks.

The excellent news is {that a} resume hole doesn’t need to be a dealbreaker. In truth, it may be a chance to focus on different useful expertise and experiences you’ve gained throughout your time away from the workforce.

Whether the hole was for private growth, training, journey, household, or some other motive, it typically equips you with distinctive attributes resembling resilience, adaptability, and a contemporary perspective. These qualities are extremely wanted within the skilled world.

The secret is to make use of your resume and canopy letter to inform a compelling story about your break, specializing in the way it has ready you for the job you’re making use of for.

How to handle an employment hole on a resume

If you might have a niche in your resume, don’t lie about your employment dates to cowl it up. Instead, contemplate considered one of these methods.

1. Explain gaps as their very own expertise.

The second tip is to incorporate a short rationalization of any gaps as their very own expertise. This could possibly be a brief sentence explaining the hole, together with any related expertise you could have acquired or put to make use of throughout that point. Even in case your time away was for household causes, you’ll be able to word the expertise that you simply gained throughout that point.

Giving a short rationalization will immediately clear up any questions {that a} recruiter could have in regards to the employment hole.

2. Minimize look of gaps by together with solely years of tenure.

An simple technique to decrease the looks of small gaps in employment is to incorporate solely years, reasonably than months, in your resume. This helps forestall potential employers from making assumptions about why you have been unemployed and as a substitute focuses them on the bigger image of your work historical past.

3. Provide extra data in your cowl letter.

Don’t be afraid to offer extra data or context in a canopy letter, if wanted. A cover letter allows for more flexibility than could be attainable inside the confines of a standard one-page resume format.

By together with further particulars right here, you’ll be able to add additional readability round any areas which can want additional rationalization with out feeling prefer it takes away from the general skilled story introduced by your resume expertise part.

4. Include training, certifications, or private tasks you labored on throughout your break day.

If you probably did something to additional your profession throughout your break day, whether or not or not it’s further training, certifications, or private tasks, you should definitely embody that.

These can assist fill these gaps and present potential employers that you simply used these occasions productively and are prepared for the subsequent large factor!

5. Use a special format.

If none of those choices work in your scenario, think about using a special format in your resume altogether. Although chronological order (most up-to-date to oldest) is essentially the most common resume format, it doesn’t essentially imply it’s the proper match for everybody’s scenario.

For instance, you’ll be able to go for a resume format that highlights job expertise most pertinent to the function reasonably than simply itemizing all prior roles chronologically, which can draw consideration to any present gaps.

How to elucidate gaps in employment in an interview

If you’ve made it to the interview course of— congrats! Your employment hole could come up once more in dialog, but it surely’s no motive to worry.

Keep the next suggestions in thoughts.

1. Be upfront and trustworthy.

The very first thing it is best to do if you happen to’re requested about gaps in your employment historical past is to be upfront and trustworthy.

There’s no have to attempt to disguise it or make excuses— simply be trustworthy about what occurred. For instance, if you happen to took a while off to take care of a member of the family, merely say that. If you have been on sabbatical, say that. Honesty is at all times the most effective coverage.

2. Reframe your hole as a constructive.

You may fear that employers will see your hole as an indication of unreliability or lack of ambition. However, there are methods to reframe it that may make your hole into an asset.

Here are just a few examples to remember.

Reframing a niche because of a sabbatical

If you’ve taken a break from work to journey, this is a chance to focus on the abilities and expertise you gained throughout your travels. Employers are sometimes searching for candidates who’ve transferable expertise resembling problem-solving, creativity, resourcefulness and resilience— all nice qualities which might come out of taking a while off.

For instance, if you happen to spent a while overseas engaged on tasks with native communities or companies, you should definitely emphasize the interpersonal expertise you developed whereas working with others.

Reframing time spent job looking out

If you took an prolonged interval of unemployment because of a tough job market, don’t really feel embarrassed. Instead use the chance to showcase how proactive and decided you might be when pursuing new alternatives.

Emphasize that you simply have been actively taking the time to seek out the proper function and firm for you— not simply taking the primary job that was obtainable.

Highlight any further actions or lessons you took throughout that point. This works as proof that regardless that there weren’t many roles obtainable on the time, you continue to took benefit of each alternative for progress that introduced itself.

Reframing caring for a liked one

If your employment hole got here from caring for youngsters, a member of the family, or an aged relative, this may be seen as proof of your dedication and loyalty. You may additionally concentrate on the way it has made you higher ready for the function you utilized for. In addition to serving to take care of another person, likelihood is good that you simply acquired helpful communication, administration, and management expertise throughout this era too!

Reframing a enterprise failure

Finally, in case your hole was because of enterprise failure, spotlight what classes you’ve realized from this expertise. Discuss how they’ll assist make you profitable sooner or later. This may embody something from managing stress or coping with tight deadlines extra successfully to honing your advertising and marketing and gross sales strategies. All of those are useful insights which may show invaluable in future roles.

The Bottom line

Gaps in employment don’t need to be a dealbreaker in relation to discovering a job. By being upfront and trustworthy about why there’s a niche in your employment historical past and sharing any expertise or expertise you may need gained throughout that point, you’ll be able to reveal that you simply’re an excellent candidate for the function.

Know what my single biggest piece of advice to achieving career hunting success is?

 

It’s a complex, yet VERY simple concept.

 

Ready?

 

It is: BECOME OBSESSED.

 

Yes, become obsessed. 

 

It’s that simple. If you want to accomplish something, get great at something, or attain something, you need to become obsessed over it.

 

In the career searching realm (whether laid off, unhappy in your current role, switching industries etc.),
this means getting creative with the ways in which you market yourself. Think about yourself as a brochure that is currently sitting on your grandma’s kitchen table that no one reads and is heading to the recycling bin soon. Instead you want to be the billboard poster on a New York Times Square building that 900,000 people read every single day. We need to get you to THAT level but it doesn’t happen through the traditional ‘apply online’ method you may be limiting yourself to.

 

Here are some of the ways in which becoming obsessed with your career search can translate into landing your next career role.
1. Make a list of top 25-50 companies that are a) currently hiring and b) you are interested in and align with your career trajectory. The reason we want to make two separate lists is because while the companies that have a open role posted online and have a clear immediate need to hire should be focused on, other companies may have a need for the role you are looking for too but don’t have it posted online. It’s important to have a solid idea of the specific role you are looking for, down to the title within the companies.

 

2. Once you have crafted the list of companies you are interested in joining, make every effort to research and understand the industry, each business and ultimately find out what challenges the company may be navigating right now (especially in the middle of a pandemic). When you have obsessively researched the companies you are interested in, you are going to craft problem solving and tailored deliverables that makes you stand out from all of the applications by a MILE (eg. similarly branded cover-letter, resume, PowerPoint presentation, brochure). The deliverable should be appropriate to the industry and role you are applying for. I remember in one of my past roles, we were hiring for a Vice President, Strategic Communications. This was a high-profile role making a SUBSTANTIAL income for a very large employer. Do you know what one of the candidates did that not only made his application rise to the top of the application pile but also landed him an interview within one week, second interview within another week and ultimately a job offer? He created a company branded resume brochure that not only highlighted his past experience but also talked about what he could do for this potential employer. It. looked. awesome. Oh, and know what else? He spend the time and money (I’m sure less than $10.00) to print the flyer off in color so it looked professional and fresh then hand delivered it. Clearly he was passionate, driven and stood out in my mind (even years later). Make it your goal for this to be you.  

 

3. Make a list of employees within each company you have obsessively researched and start networking. You need to find people who not only know about the role but could potentially have an impact on hiring for it. Time to fire up LinkedIn. Does their profile list their email? If not, can you find it through a email hunting tool? Phone number? There are many tools you can use to source someones email such as Email Hunter and Mailscoop etc. Once you find your potential influencers (the list you created), it’s time to do some stalking so you can effectively reach out and build that relationship! The key is to understand what is kosher to bring up out of the blue and what isn’t. People are OK with you checking out their LinkedIn, but they may be a little weirded out if you mention that picture from Friday’s party that you saw on Facebook. If it exists on LinkedIn, it’s fair to bring up as a ice breaker. Next, you move to crafting the networking email. This can be an extremely nerve-wracking part in the process but this is one of the most important steps. Some ice-breaker topics include:

 

• Their non-traditional background
• People you know in common
• An interesting career transition
• A current or past project of theirs
• The same school or program you attended
• A blog topic they wrote
• Something interesting from their personal website

 

Here are some sweet cold email templates that can help you make the introduction easier: how to cold email like a boss.

 

Now, if and when you get email responses, use those networking skill to grab a coffee, ask them about their experience and display what you crafted and how YOU are the ONE they should recommend.

 

_________________________

 

Chances of getting a response through traditional ‘apply online’ methods? <5%

 

Chances of getting a response from BECOMING OBSESSED? My guess is 95%

 

_________________________

 

This is career coaching 101.

1. Pre-Interview Preparation Stage

 

As you continue to navigate your way through the career search process, you may find yourself in the fortunate position of hearing back from contacted companies. How exciting! If a interview is eventually scheduled, what are the first steps you should take? The work on your end does not stop here. If fact, preparation on your end starts here. To begin, it’s always a good idea to research the company.

 

Consider compiling answers to the following questions about the business before your scheduled interview:

 

How long has the company been in business?
What products or services do they provide?
What industry is the business in?
Who are other key players in the industry?
How do they stand out from their competition?

 

Also, consider researching answers to the following questions about the open role before your scheduled interview:

 

How interested are you in the role?
What are the key day-to-day tasks you will be performing?
What education is the job requiring?
What experience do you need for the role?
If you lack direct experience, do you have transferrable skills you can speak to?

 

If it helps to write the answers to these questions on paper before your interview, DO IT! This way, if any of these questions are asked during the interview you will have the answers top of mind. If you can’t find the answers to some of these questions, keep note as they may be appropriate to ask at the end of the interview (if given the opportunity).

 

2. Interview Stage

 

Most people get nauseous at the thought of being asked questions from people that you often don’t know – and that’s ok! We’ve all been there. Make it your goal to feel as prepared as possible for an interview so you feel confident with the answers you provide. Here are some considerations when you reach the interview stage:

 

• Ensure you bring extra copies of your resume. You never know—what if your coffee spills on it while in transit? What if more people have been asked to step into the interview and they don’t have a copy on hand?
• Dress appropriate to the role you are applying for. There is no secrete code to what you should wear but make it your goal to show up as the best version of you.
• Keep calm and remember to breathe. If you find your nerves are getting the best of you, your sweating and your heart is beating abnormally fast, inhale for 4 seconds and exhale for another 4 seconds. Focus on a still moving object. Remind yourself of the reasons you are here—because you are excited about your next potential career opportunity!
• Answer all the questions you have been asked to your full capability. Provide specific examples where possible so that the interviewers can understand the experience you have. If you are asked a question about an area you may not have experience on, do your best to draw from relevant tasks you have completed that would translate into the skills employers are looking for. Show that you are capable and willing to learn—this goes a long way!
• At the end of the interview, always remember to thank all interviewers for their time, smile and leave a good impression with proper etiquette.

 

3. Post- Interview Stage

 

Regardless of how you think the interview went, take time to reflect! What went well? What would you change next time? Do you still think the role and company is a good fit? These reflections are important because remember, interviewing is often a process repeated many times before successfully landing your next gig. Another important step in the post-interview process is to follow up with your interviewers once time has passed. What does ‘time has passed’ mean? As a general rule of thumb, give the company a minimum of 3 business days before you reach out as interviewers need time to reflect too. There may be other candidates scheduled to interview too. Once 3-5 business days have passed, consider emailing or calling the company. Did the company provide you with a business card? Do you have the contact information of the Human Resources professional you spoke with? If so, gently follow up.

 

Here is an example of a follow up email:

 

_______

 

DATE

 

RE: Thank you & Follow-up

 

Good morning (or) afternoon NAME:

 

Thank you again for taking the time to speak with me regarding the ROLE and for coordinating the interview that took place on DATE.

 

I am following up on the status of my application as I remain very interested in the potential opportunity to work with COMPANY. If you require any further information at this stage in the process, please feel free to reach me at PHONE or by email at EMAIL.

 

I truly look forward to hearing back from you.

 

Best regards,

 

FIRSTNAME LASTNAME

 

_______

 

REMEMBER: interviewing takes effort, time and most of all patience. Believe in your skill and capabilities—the right role for you will come. Your Pursuit Career Coaching expert will help you every step of the way too.

Look, we’ve all been there. Scrolling through #indeed, or #linkedin or #monster and seeing a job posting that catches your eye. You read all the posting details, research the company, and think to yourself, “that’s exactly what I want to do, I’m going to apply“. You dig through your computer, open the resume you’ve been using for years, tweak one or two words, then hit the ‘apply now’ button. Then days, weeks, and eventually months go by… nothing. You check your emails daily, have your phone on vibrate or loud, but ultimately no response. You think to yourself, ‘why is no one calling me? There must be something wrong with their websites, maybe they didn’t receive it‘. You start to become anxious. Your friends and family ask you how your job search is going, and you have nothing to tell them. No updates other than let them know that you are still searching.

 

Can you relate?

 

Well, here’s 3 #resumewritingtips and tricks we would like to highlight when it comes to getting your application noticed during the recruitment process.

 

1. Have professional and updated contact information listed Make sure all your contact information is up to date and professional. Is your email from 10 years ago, and look something like gogettinggirl@xxx.com? If it is, change that immediately. Why? Because everything on your resume ultimately represents you. By having an old email that was created decades ago, you are telling your future employer that professionalism isn’t something you take serious. Start with a format of first.last@xxx.com or first_last@xxx.com. Also, make sure your phone number is accurate wherever you include it.

 

2. Be short, sweet and crystal clear

 

One of the biggest mistakes a candidate can make when it comes to the content on their resume is include information that is long winded, irrelevant, and simply unclear. Here is what we mean:

 

– use bullet points to list the relevant tasks you have done when it comes to the new role you are applying for (yes, that means leaving out tasks that do not pertain to the new job) – keep your sentences short, sweet and clear

 

– use spelling and grammar check, or have someone else proof read your final copy (this will save you from an embarrassing error)

 

– keep your resume to two pages maximum (we’re serious- no one has time to hash through 5+ pages)

 

– only highlight the last 3-4 relevant employment experiences

 

3. Choose a modern resume format

 

This part is quite important. In order to get noticed in this competitive market, it’s best to have a resume that is fresh, modern, and ultimately stands out as recruiters are scanning through applications. Traditional black and white blank resumes are a thing of the past. Take a chance and use a template that has color, a unique layout, or may even has pictures embedded in them. Depending on what you are applying for, feel free to be creative! Are you an engineer? Use a ‘ruler’ theme in your resume! Are you a painter? Showcase some of your work in the background! Again – you want to be noticed, and having a resume that is unique (but still professional) is very important.

 

Feel free to email us for your new resume that will help you land your dream career: info@pursuit.consulting